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Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (initialized as MGM; often referred to as Metro; common metonym: the Lion or Leo) is an American media company, involved primarily in the production and distribution of feature films and television programs. One of the world's oldest film studios, MGM's headquarters are located at 245 North Beverly Drive in Beverly Hills, California. MGM was founded in 1924 when the entertainment entrepreneur Marcus Loew gained control of Metro Pictures, Goldwyn Pictures, and Louis B. Mayer Pictures. In 1971, it was announced that MGM was to merge with 20th Century Fox, but the plan never came to fruition. Over the next 39 years, the studio was bought and sold at various points in its history until, on November 3, 2010, MGM filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. MGM emerged from bankruptcy on December 20, 2010, at which time the executives of Spyglass Entertainment, Gary Barber and Roger Birnbaum, became co-chairmen and co-CEOs of the holding company of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. As of 2017, MGM co-produces, co-finances, and co-distributes a majority of its films with Sony Pictures, Paramount Pictures and Warner Bros. MGM Resorts International, a Las Vegas-based hotel and casino company listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "MGM", was created in 1973 as a division of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. The company was spun out in 1979, with the studio's then owner Kirk Kerkorian maintaining a large share, but it ended all affiliation with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in 1986. In April 2020, Verizon announced it will be acquired MGM Holdings, Inc. as the parent company of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Overview MGM was the last studio to convert to sound pictures, but in spite of this fact, from the end of the silent film era through the late 1950s, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer was the dominant motion picture studio in Hollywood. Always slow to respond to the changing legal, economic, and demographic nature of the motion picture industry during the 1950s and 1960s, and although at times its films did well at the box office, the studio lost significant amounts of money throughout the 1960s. In 1966, MGM was sold to Canadian investor Edgar Bronfman Sr., whose son Edgar Jr. would later buy Universal Studios. Three years later, an increasingly unprofitable MGM was bought by Kirk Kerkorian, who slashed staff and production costs, forced the studio to produce low-budget fare, and then shut down theatrical distribution in 1973. The studio continued to produce five to six films a year that were released through other studios, mostly United Artists. Kerkorian did, however, commit to increased production and an expanded film library when he bought United Artists in 1981. MGM ramped up internal production, as well as keeping production going at UA, which included the lucrative James Bond film franchise. It also incurred significant amounts of debt to increase production. The studio took on additional debt as a series of owners took charge in the 1980s and early 1990s. In 1986, Ted Turner bought MGM, but a few months later, sold the company back to Kerkorian to recoup massive debt, while keeping the library assets for himself. The series of deals left MGM even more heavily in debt. MGM was bought by Pathé Communications (led by Italian publishing magnate Giancarlo Parretti) in 1990, but Parretti lost control of Pathé and defaulted on the loans used to purchase the studio. The French banking conglomerate Crédit Lyonnais, the studio's major creditor, then took control of MGM. Even more deeply in debt, MGM was purchased by a joint venture between Kerkorian, producer Frank Mancuso, and Australia's Seven Network in 1996. The debt load from these and subsequent business deals negatively affected MGM's ability to survive as a separate motion picture studio. After a bidding war which included Time Warner (the current parent of Turner Broadcasting) and General Electric, MGM was acquired on September 23, 2004, by a partnership consisting of Sony Corporation of America, Comcast, Texas Pacific Group (now TPG Capital, L.P.), Providence Equity Partners, and other investors. In April 2020, Verizon announced it will be Acquired of MGM Holdings, Inc. as the parent company Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. History Loews era Founding and early years MGM in the 1920s and 1930s MGM in the 1940s MGM in the 1950s MGM enters television MGM cartoon shorts Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. MGM/UA Entertainment MGM Entertainment MGM-Pathé Communications Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures MGM Holdings Bidding war and corporate reorganization MGM in the digital age MGM files for bankruptcy Post-bankruptcy era Verizon era Verizon announced it would be acquired MGM Holdings Inc. as the parent company Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Headquarters Leo logo and mottos The MGM library Turner Entertainment Co. Following his brief ownership of the company in 1986, Ted Turner formed Turner Entertainment Co. as a holding company for the pre-May 1986 MGM film and television library, which he retained. After Turner's holdings were purchased by Time Warner in 1996, they ultimately became integrated into the Warner Bros. library, though the copyright claimant to these titles is still "Turner Entertainment Co." For some time after the sale, MGM continued to handle home video distribution of its pre-May 1986 film and TV library and began to handle home video distribution of the pre-1950 Warner Bros. films; those rights were reassigned to Warner Home Video in 1999. Acquired libraries Through its acquisitions of many different companies and film and television libraries, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer has greatly enhanced its film and television holdings. As of 1998, MGM owned the rights to 5,200 films. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's library includes its own post-April 1986 library as well as the film and television libraries of: *United Artists, including: **187 Monogram Pictures films released from 1931 to 1946 *Orion Pictures (post-September 1982 library), including: **Filmways, including: ***American International Pictures **MCEG Sterling Entertainment, including: ***Manson Distributing/Manson International **The Samuel Goldwyn Company, including: ***Motion Picture Corporation of America (1986–1996 library) **PolyGram Filmed Entertainment (pre-March 31, 1996 library), including: ***Interscope Communications ***The Virgin Films/Palace Pictures catalog ***Island Pictures, including: ****Atlantic Entertainment Group, including: *****Clubhouse Pictures ***CDR's Epic library ****Hemdale Film Corporation ****Sherwood Productions/Gladden Entertainment ****Nelson Entertainment, including: *****Galactic Films, Inc. *****Spikings Corporation ****Empire International Pictures, including: *****Urban Classics Castle Rock Entertainment (pre-1994 library) *Most of The Cannon Group, Inc. *21st Century Film Corporation Distribution See also * Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer cartoon studio * MGM Animation/Visual Arts * Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Animation * MGM Television * MGM Home Entertainment External links *Official website Category:Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Category:American film studios Category:Film distributors of the United States Category:Film production companies of the United States Category:Entertainment companies based in California Category:Media companies of the United States Category:Cinema of Southern California Category:Hollywood history and culture Category:Organizations awarded an Academy Honorary Award Category:Companies based in Beverly Hills, California Category:Companies based in Culver City, California Category:Companies based in Los Angeles Category:American companies established in 1924 Category:Media companies established in 1924 Category:1924 establishments in California Category:Private equity portfolio companies Category:Companies formed by merger Category:Companies that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2010 Category:2019 mergers and acquisitions